breaking the fast -yay

Now is the best part of the evening-breaking the fast(Iftar).
I noticed that Amina performs her fasting at sunrise and breaks her fast at sunset.
it's now about 7:30 pm and Amina's mom made sure to fix Amina's favorite dishes.

Good Bye Safia

I got to meet Amina's long time friend (Safia)for the last time as she's leaving to Morocco with her parents to live.
Safia's father is from Pakistan and her mother is from Russia.I could see that Amina is close friend to safia and it's a big loss for her.

prayer room

Amina brought me inside the prayer room. I see how everyone is standing quietly and respectfully as they performing their evening prayers behind the Imam(the leader of the prayer).This goes on for about 5 mintues.

The Mosque

I am now ready for Amina to take me inside the Mosque

visiting the Muslim Mosque

This week, I had a chance to peek into Amina's world.
Amina is observing the Islamic holy month of Ramdan.I visited her Mosque today.in Urbana on Lincoln Ave. Near the U of I campus.Here we stand by the front entance.

San Fransisco -- We Arrive!

(Julian the Parrot's epic Cally road trip with the A. family.... continued! (Part VI)

San Fransisco, at long last!


A City Park in the Pacific Heights Neighborhood, Overlooking a few of the Many Lovely S.F. Hills


After several hours of driving across the state, we had finally reached the west coast, and what was our destination: The City of San Fransisco!

The very first thing we did once we got there, was catch up with family member, Mason A., at the ballet studio downtown:

In Front of the San Fransisco Ballet Studios

Mason A. had been participating in a 5-week summer dance program which was nearly over, and we had gone out there to bring him home. But not before we ourselves got to stay for a week and take in the sights. We began sight-seeing that very afternoon, by driving over the Golden Gate Bridge and into Marin County just an hour after our arrival:


The Golden Gate Bridge!


Once in Marin County, we drove through the cute town of Sausalito, and then headed for the coast, where we saw some truly stunning ocean-side scenery:

Views from Bonita Point



The lovely, rolling Pacific Coastline

Looking Down at Stinson Beach


The beach below that we could see from our vantage point above looked highly intriguing, so we drove the curvy mountain roads back down to it for a closer look:


The Pacific Ocean -- Smell That Salty Sea Air!



Dipping Our Feet at Stinson Beach

The surf was fun to wade in, but the water was really cold...! Still, that didn't stop us from getting a little splashed and wet by the pounding waves :-) ....

Before long, it was time to head back over the bay and into the city again, but not before we got another photograph of the beautiful Bridge from across the water...


The Golden Gate Bridge, and the City of San Fransisco, as seen from across the Bay

(FASCINATING S. F. FACT: The Golden Gate Bridge has enough cable within it's structure to encircle the earth THREE times!)

Until next time.....!

California At Last...!

(Julian the Parrot's epic Cally road trip with the A. family.... continued! (Part V)

My travel through the state of Nevada with the A. family on our drive to California was generally uneventful, except that we were able to finally stop for the night. Finding a motel in Reno, NV, our stay was so very short, arriving late in the day and departing early the next morning (pretty much only to sleep), that we didn't manage to get any photographs. Still, waking up that morning, the third day after leaving home, it was exciting indeed to know we would finally be arriving at our final destination, San Fransisco, by that very afternoon....

Reno isn't far from the California border, and before too terribly long we were driving across it, cheering aloud when we saw the 'Welcome' sign along the highway. We were smack in the middle of the Sierra Nevada mountains by this time, and the scenery was magnificent. After having to make a mandatory stop at a car inspection station just inside the border, and having our nice snacking oranges confiscated by a State of CA Food and Agriculture Department agent (due to the risk of importing potentially hazardous fruit flies) we stopped at a lovely, panoramic highway rest area, which happened to have some very interesting History....

Rest Stop near Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevadas

As it turns out, we were one group of Illinoisans who managed to get through this infamous area, known as Donner Pass, without any...well? "ill-effects"...? ;-) Named for the unfortunate venture of the Donner Party, an ill-fated wagon train of pioneers that began its 1846 migration in Illinois, this area was the site whereby they became tragically stuck while attempting to cross the rugged mountain pass too late in the season. Overtaken by early, high-altitude winter weather, and left with dangerously low provisions, the results were what you might call...grim. (You can learn more about the Donner Party here and here)....

Despite this calamitous history the views of the Pass were truly spectacular -- in this photo, you can see 'Donner Lake' just over my shoulder:

A Patch of Donner Lake

We enjoyed our brief break at Donner Pass, but soon it was time to continue our journey West...

Next stop: the great city of San Fransisco...!

A Salty Stop in Utah...

(Julian the Parrot's epic Cally road trip... continued! (Part IV)

Hello again! For our next installment of my epic adventure to San Fransisco with the A. family, we continue here with our interesting short stops along the way....

After driving all across Wyoming, we finally entered the state of Utah. Passing magnificent mountains, and pretty pine forests, before too long we eventually found ourselves approaching Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City was the site of the 2002 Winter Olympics, and we were able to see from our car window the olympic ski jumping facilities upon the side of a mountain as we drove along the highway on the outskirts of town.

Though we did not manage to get any pictures of the city as we motored our way through it on the highway, we were all very impressed with just how scenic it was. Set within a great valley, at the base of a large, beautiful mountain range, it made for a very picturesque sight (to see internet photos of the city, click here).

Salt Lake City is named after the Great Salt Lake, the shores of which are not so far out of town. The highway ran along the southern-most edge of the Lake, and we could just make it out in the distance as we drove along side it....

The Great Salt Lake

The Great Salt Lake is .... salty! It's actually far more salty than sea water, so much so that a person would easily float in its dense waters, rather than sink.

Driving along, we eventually noticed how white the ground was gradually becoming. It obviously wasn't snow, but it sure resembled it. Instead, it turned out to be salt! We had entered the Great Salt Lake Desert. We stopped at a rest stop to take a closer look...

A Salty Walk


And naturally I just had to get an even CLOSER look...! :-)

A Salty Salute!

The salt crystals were crunchy under our feet. And it stretched all around for miles.

This is NOT snow!

So it was a fun little break to be had while it lasted, but before too long it was time again to climb back into the car and continue our drive on to our next destination, the state of Nevada.

More to come -- stay tuned!

.

Welcome to Wyoming!

Julian the Parrot's epic Cally road trip... continued! (Part III)

A Roadside Rest-Stop Lesson (click to read sign)

When I awoke in the A. Family's car the next morning, I was excited to find myself looking at very different terrain. Continuing our long drive, by now we had entered the great state of Wyoming, and were officially in The 'Wild' West....

While we still had many miles to cover and therefore little time to explore, we did manage a quick stop at what turned out to be an intriguing highway rest-area. Exiting the intestate, we noticed we were surrounded by vast stretches of Sagebrush Desert -- clumps of multi-hued green sage plants growing as far as the eye could see. We even picked a small bit of it in order to admire it's strong, highly aromatic scent.

Sagebrush Desert


We were surprised to learn that this particular rest-stop also hosted a sizable colony of cute Prairie Dogs. They were living underground in a complex network of tunnels, called a Prairie Dog Town, right next to the parking lot...!


Nosy Fat Prairie Dog


And I made a new friend...!

BFF's

So our visit at this small isolated rest-stop was brief, yet memorable. And the landscape had certainly changed considerably, for it was now rolling, rocky, and arid -- with towns and settlements becoming increasingly further apart, and vast stretches of open ranch lands in between.

Continuing upon our journey, we left 'our' little rest stop and got back onto the interstate, heading onward west toward the Great Continental Divide, while gradually climbing ever higher in elevation. Thanks to the changes in air pressure, my ears would often pop!


Roadside Vistas, and a Big Blue Sky

In all it was quite exciting and novel to observe the changes in geography by this time, and to have new and interesting scenery to gaze at through the car window while the many miles and hours to our next destination, the state of Utah, rolled by.....

Until next time....!

Look Out San Fransisco, Here We Come...!

(Part II)

On Our Way!

On the morning of Sunday, July 25th, the four of us began our long journey west -- by driving down the street of our Illinois hometown, heading in the direction of California....

The drive of several hours across our great state was fairly uneventful, for we did not even stop until we crossed the big highway bridge over the mighty Mississippi River, and found ourselves in the town of Hannibal, Missouri (Can you find me in the photo below...? ;-)....

Hannibal, Mo -- Hometown of Mark Twain

But after a brief fill-up, we had resumed our extended car-ride -- stopping only every so often as necessary for gas and breaks, and never for very long....

For most of the day as we motored our merry way through Missouri, and eventually entered Nebraska, the scenery out the car window looked very much the same as Illinois. Familiar, if a little monotonous -- our gazes along the highway fell on flat terrain, occasional trees and streams, the outskirts of various towns, and continuous lush-green farm fields. Toward the evening of that first day however, we were treated to a truly fantabulous sunset (its colors nearly as vibrant as my own!), while we continued our way westward....

Nebraska Sunset


As dusk was falling, knowing we were in for a looooooong night of driving ahead, I settled myself in for the evening....


Good Night...!

To be continued.....

Julian: Parrot in the City....Part I

Approaching the Golden Gate Bridge

Hi! Julian the Parrot here, and this post will be the first in a series to tell you all about my exciting adventures last month driving to the great city of San Francisco with the A. Family, and our various stops along the way.....

As you can see we made it there in one piece (and in good time), for in this picture we are just about to drive across that world-renown and iconic city landmark, the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge....

More to come soon....!